The life and times of the most recent parish priest of St Joseph`s and St Wilfrid`s, Gateshead.

Saturday, 5 September 2015

Thinking it through

So it seems during the Year of Mercy I can invite the local SSPX clergy round (their church is ten minutes walk away) to help with confessions but can`t invite them to say Mass. And their weddings are still invalid.

7 comments:

I thought their Masses were valid as attending one fulfils Sunday obligation, or am I mistaken. Wasn't it recently said that if you couldn't go to a Catholic church for Mass you could fulfil your obligation by attending a non-Catholic church?

Craving your indulgence, Father, but I felt you would be interested in a piece in today's Telegraph. Jeremy Corbyn has stated that if elected, and if he becomes PM (two massive "ifs") then he will make it possible for taxpayers to refuse to allow any of their taxes to be used for the purposes of Defence and the Armed Forces. He says "conscience" should allow taxpayers to refuse paying for "immoral purposes."Where does that leave Catholics who currently pay for contraception and abortion through our taxes? Can we refuse? If not, why not? One law for CND, another for RC.

Are you saying that the SSPX priests near you are not Catholic; yet they can heard confession? Does this apply to other non-Catholic priests?

I have been told that a wedding in a non-Catholic Church (e.g. Anglican) is not considered valid by the Catholic Church UNLESS a Catholic priest was a witness in the Congregation. And it thus follows, that if a non-valid Anglican wedding ends in divorce; either of the couple can marry again in a Catholic Church (and hence not commit adultery) because the Church does not recognise their previous marriage.

Victor, SSPX priests can`t hear valid confessions or witness valid marriages as they lack a legitimate faculty to do so,being suspended from the moment of their ordination. Pope Francis has granted them the faculty to hear valid confessions during the Year of Mercy.

Non-Catholic weddings are valid so long as the parties are free to marry and intend what the Church intends by getting married. A catholic priest is not required to be present. If a Catholic wishes to marry a non-Catholic in a non-Catholic church a dispensation from canonical form can be granted by the Catholic bishop and the marriage will then be valid from a Catholic point of view and a Catholic priest is not required to be present.

The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.” 13 Gideon answered him, “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?Judges 6.12